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    <a href="../index.html">cppreference.com</a> &gt; <a href=
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    getline
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  <div class="syntax-name-format">
    Syntax:
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  <pre class="syntax-box">
  #include &lt;fstream&gt;
  istream&amp; getline( char* buffer, streamsize num );
  istream&amp; getline( char* buffer, streamsize num, char delim );
</pre>

  <p>The getline() function is used with input streams, and reads
  characters into <em>buffer</em> until either:</p>

  <ul>
    <li><em>num</em> - 1 characters have been read,</li>

    <li>a newline is encountered,</li>

    <li>an <strong>EOF</strong> is encountered,</li>

    <li>or, optionally, until the character <em>delim</em> is read. The
    <em>delim</em> character is not put into buffer.</li>
  </ul>

  <p>For example, the following code uses the getline function to
  display the first 100 characters from each line of a text file:</p>

  <pre class="example-code">
  ifstream fin("tmp.dat");

  int MAX_LENGTH = 100;
  char line[MAX_LENGTH];

  while( fin.getline(line, MAX_LENGTH) ) {
    cout << "read line: " << line << endl;
  }
</pre>

  <p>If you'd like to read lines from a file into <a
  href="../cppstring/index.html">strings</a> instead of character arrays,
  consider using the <a href="../cppstring/getline.html">string
  getline</a> function.</p>

  <p>Those using a Microsoft compiler may find that getline() reads an
  extra character, and should consult the documentation on the <a href=
  "http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-US;q240015">Microsoft
  getline bug</a>.</p>

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    Related topics:
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    <a href="gcount.html">gcount</a><br>
    <a href="get.html">get</a><br>
    (C++ Strings) <a href="../cppstring/getline.html">getline</a><br>
    <a href="ignore.html">ignore</a><br>
    <a href="read.html">read</a>
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